Waltz (Boss)
Waltz is the Count of Forte City and the entire Forte region. As a boss, he is first fought at the summit of Mt. Rock in the [[World of Eternal Sonata|World of Eternal Sonata]] and at the Top Floor: Core area of the Double Reed Tower of Sand, this second fight taking place exclusively in Eternal Sonata's PlayStation 3 release. In the first battle he is accompanied by the dragon Calamity Wilhm, while in the second he is accompanied by Ruined Body, the monstrous mutated form of his lieutenant, Legato. Story The party travels to the summit of Mt. Rock and finally catch up with Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade, who have decide to travel to Forte City, hoping that if they surrender themselves, they can prevent an invasion of the kingdom of Baroque. The party chastises them for thinking that reason could have an effect on someone as clearly unsympathetic as Waltz, but before there can be any discussion of the matter, Waltz and his lieutenant Legato appear in the sky, commanding a large fleet of dragons. Crescendo and Serenade try to press their case for peace, but Waltz dismisses their overtures and demands the party's surrender of Polka, threatening to kill them all if they don't comply with his demands. Polka surrenders herself in an attempt to save the party and Waltz and Legato use the power of her astra to make an agogo that they've obtained glow and then place the agogo in mineral powder to create an enhanced mixture. Having what they want, Waltz orders his dragons to attack the party, but they successfully bluff him into taking them on in battle. Waltz is defeated, but he orders Legato to drink the enhanced mineral powder and with it, Legato mutates into a monstrous creature called Ruined Body. Waltz then has him use his power to destroy the dragons and then orders him to turn it upon the party, but Polka emits a radiant light that consumes Waltz and Legato. When the party comes to, they find that Ruined Body has created a massive rip in time and space. They pursue Waltz and Legato and after a series of trials reach the Top Floor: Core area of the Double Reed Tower of Sand. There, they take Waltz to task for his actions and engage him in another battle, this time alongside Ruined Body. Upon defeat, Waltz orders Ruined Body to tear apart the entire world. Attacks Waltz possesses one of the most advanced attack sets in the entire game. Fighting with an ornate rapier, his normal physical attack can hit several times and the pattern can be difficult to predict. His Aure Dominium is a distance attack. This is his weakest attack - very slow to execute and easy to Guard against. He can also use this on a target at melee range. Harsh Torment is an attack from a sight distance and this one has a chance of causing Poison status. He seems to use this move much less often than any of his other Special Attacks and it is quite possible to go an entire battle without seeing it. Volcano Concussio is a swift multi-hit attack on a single target with a powerful finishing blow that has a chance of knockdown that he will often use after a set of physical attacks. His most dangerous attack is Apocalypse Fall, a wide-area attack he can use either from a distance or at melee that deals great damage to everyone in range. It is reasonably easy to Guard against if the player does not panic, but can present a real danger if he uses it a target facing away from him. Strategy Waltz's attack set makes him one of the most powerful bosses in the game and potentially the most powerful mandatory opponent in the PlayStation 3 version in the second battle with him. In the first battle, the first order of business should be to take out the accompanying Calamity Wilhm. This monster has much less HP than Waltz (particularly in the Xbox 360 version), but so long as it remains on the field of battle, it can prove a nuisance to the party and also make it difficult to target Waltz at times. If Waltz manages to group together with it, then both can be attacked at once to do lots of damage and swiftly build Echoes that can be unleashed for a powerful Harmony Chain sequence. The main problems involving Waltz are his speed and his tendency to often use an unpredictable attack pattern. He also has an unfortunate tendency to run behind opponents to use attacks, and is even more likely to do this in the second battle with him and in an Encore Mode playthrough. The move to hope for is Aure Dominium, as it is slow and weakly damaging, but he shouldn't be counted on to use this all that often. Place a Very Odd Chocolate and Sock Incense in the item set to weaken him, but in the first battle, only use them once the Calamity Wilhm has fallen to prevent the chance of them being used on it. Load the rest of the set with Angel Trumpets and Goddess Bouquets and maybe one or two Clover items if not using Viola or Frederic for healing, but don't bother with an item to try to inflict Poison status, as while Waltz is not immune to it, it has a very low chance of taking effect. In the first battle, Polka will be automatically knocked out of the party if she is in it and replaced with the next member in line, so compensate for this by choosing somebody else instead prior to entering the summit area of Mt. Rock. March can try to use her special moves to inflict Slow and Stop status, but, again, Waltz has a good chance of resisting these, so it is probably better to just use stronger characters unless March has been used regularly. If using her, instead set her Special Attacks to Aurora Curtain and Midnight Cloud. The buff provided by Aurora Curtain can be extremely useful in protecting against some of the damage from Waltz's attacks, while Midnight Cloud will aid in building a high Echo count. Viola may have trouble targeting Waltz with distance attacks, but this can be helped by using Hawk Eye, which will also greatly increase the damage dealt to Waltz. If using Salsa, Shadow Silhouette can also be a big help. In both cases, in the first battle, the characters must either be wearing a Dark Brooch accessory (not recommended for Viola), retreat to the very edge of the battlefield (not practical for Salsa unless Waltz is already in the dark), or stand in an enemy's shadow to use these skills, as the battlefield is almost entirely in light. In the second battle, there is an angled area of dark that is much more practical if either character needs to use these skills. An alternate strategy is to instead just use melee fighters with powerful moves and reasonably high HP to try to overwhelm Waltz, such as a party containing Allegretto, Jazz and Falsetto. This can take Waltz down quickly, but can be very dangerous if Waltz manages to hit the party with an un-Guarded Apocalypse Fall. Serenade and Crescendo are both very good choices in the second battle against Waltz. If the Werewolf Choker was obtained, this can be used to quickly build Echoes, allowing both battles to be won at levels much lower than usual. In the second battle, opinion is split on whether to take out Waltz or Ruined Body first. Waltz is by far the greater threat, though he actually has less HP than Ruined Body. The catch is that Ruined Body's large size can sometimes make Waltz harder to see; it presents a larger and much easier target and has lower defense. Additionally, so long as it remains, it can use Blood Sink to lower characters' attack power. Its attacks, however, are easily Guarded against in general and Waltz is more likely to get two turns in a row, so he can be very dangerous so long as he is still around, whereas the Ruined Body can be easily picked off once Waltz is defeated. If having trouble with the battle, try experimenting with both methods - going after either Ruined Body or Waltz first. In both battles with Waltz, if repeatedly losing, then spend some time leveling up. A difference of just a few levels can really be a big help in giving the party more HP and defense to survive Waltz's attacks, more attack power to take him down faster and more speed to get more turns and make it less likely that he will take two turns in a row. Battle Quotes Battle Opening *(chuckles maniacally) Ah, nothing can stop me! (1st battle, Xbox 360) *Come on now, let's see what you've got! (1st battle, PS3) *You'll lose and be nothing once more! (2nd battle) Character Responses *'Allegretto': Let's go! (2nd battle) *'Jazz': Pride goeth before the fall. (1st battle, PS3) *'Jazz': So, the time has come at last. (2nd battle) Special Attacks *'Apocalypse Fall' **Worship the power of the king! **Weep for the king's love! **Ahahahaha! Ahahahahaha! What a joyous feeling! I'll let you have a taste of it as well! *'Aure Dominium' **It's the will of the people. *'Volcano Concussio' **Get down on your knees...before the sword of a king! Following Special Attacks *Aheheheh! You're too slow! *Ahahahaha, you did well. (Following Apocalypse Fall) Victorious Against Party *So in the end, it was all the ramblings of fools... (1st battle, PS3) *Very good, I'll be sure to forget all about you. (2nd battle) Musical themes "Your Truth is My Lie" is used as his battle theme when facing him for the first time at the peak of Mt. Rock. This is Track 1 on the fourth disc of the game's original score. "Unbalanced" is used for the battle with him and Ruined Body at the top of the Double Reed Tower of Sand and is Track 6 on the fourth disc. Special Attacks Gallery Waltz Uses Apocalypse Fall.jpg|Apocalypse Fall Waltz Uses Aure Dominium.jpg|Aure Dominium Waltz Uses Harsh Torment.jpg|Harsh Torment Waltz Uses Volcano Concussio.jpg|Volcano Concussio Trivia *The second battle with Waltz is entirely absent from the Xbox 360 version. In this version, Waltz states that he'll take on the party for fun and is gone for good once the party defeats him in the battle. Legato then drinks the enhanced mineral powder of his own volition and the party fights only Ruined Body in the Double Reed Tower of Sand, a battle that is generally considered extremely easy. The final boss is then considered the most challenging fight in the Xbox 360 version, whereas in the PlayStation 3 version, it's Waltz and Ruined Body, as Waltz's attacks are generally much faster and he has a very dangerous wide-area attack. *After winning the first battle against Waltz, the Party Level is increased to 5. After winning the second body, the party receives the Hero's Crest item that allows access to the Mysterious Unison dungeon. *In the PlayStation 3 version of Eternal Sonata, Waltz's HP was reduced around 40000 points in the first fight, but the EXP granted for defeating him and Calamity Wilhm was reduced to around 16% of that granted in the Xbox 360 version. *In the trailer video for the PlayStation 3 version of game available at its entry on the U.S. PlayStation site, Waltz is seen using Apocalypse Fall. Related enemies *Calamity Wilhm *Ruined Body *Tuba *Fugue *Rondo Category:Human Bosses